Guild's Secrets
by glowlucy
Summary: Natsu's good at lying, Lucy wants to scream, and Virgo is just confused. Fluff. One Shot.


_Author's Note: Hi! I decided to do an alternative to one of my all time favorite episodes "Watch Out For the Guy You Like". I've seen so many fanmade re-editions of this episode, but I wanted to do my own little twist. Hope you enjoy._

Natsu's Friend

It was for the sake of their partnership!

Or Lucy kept telling herself that. All day, she was imagining frilly, love-y situations with a hunky, romantic dreamy Natsu. Mira's small, impactful suggestion hit Lucy's heart head on.

 _She's been single for so long._

Natsu's been one of the only guys that's been constantly touching and interacting with her. Him being handsome was only a bonus, but his personality was a dime a dozen. He was mostly goofy, and yet his pure, tender aura drew her in. (It took her a lot- _so much-_ to admit that).She never felt anything but admiration for him. She simply accepted him as a partner, the same way she accepted Happy, Erza, and Gray.

She didn't see him as a best friend-it hasn't been that long since they met-however, she enjoyed his company.

Maybe a little too much now? He couldn't be within two feet of her without her speculating and assuming he liked it ( _in that way)._ Every little touch was carefully calculated in Lucy's mind.

Turns out, Mira was...completely wrong.

Lucy saw herself as a sophisticated young woman. But hearing Natsu's stupid favor- _from her celestial spirit, no less-_ she couldn't help herself. _For two days, she was contemplating giving him a chance and it's all a joke?_

Suddenly, her sparkly Natsu induced dream shattered like a broken frozen river. Half of her emotions were filled with complete disappointment, the other half was filled with rushing relief. She reminded herself that originally, she was going to reject Natsu anyway, but at least now she wouldn't actually go through with it.

She still slapped him.

She regretted as soon as she turned around, but she wasn't going to apologize. Fairy Tail would become a boarding school before she would let him ask her friends to do something as ridiculous as dig up the guild's secret. The soft vibration of Virgo's keys showed that Virgo was confused, and wanted to be summoned.

"Lucy, wait!" She heard Natsu call after her, so she quickened her pace. She wasn't going to explain _anything_ to him. She was embarrassed enough as is.

As her luck would have it, she left a strong, fiery arm grip her wrist, and when she turned around to yell at him, another arm shoved something into her face. It was small, and shiny. _Her earring?_

"Ya dropped this!" Natsu explained, with a huge grin. Sighing, Lucy grabbed it gently, clenching a fist around it. She felt the pointy end dig into her palm, as she started down to her boots.

"Thanks."

"Now that I did something for you, you have to do something for me!"

"Why you little-" Lucy growled, ready to strangle him, before Natsu narrowed his eyes and huffed. She wasn't furious anymore, just ashamed and extremely exhausted.

 _Whatever!_

"Open!" At at word, Natsu began to dance excitedly, clapping his hands. "Gate of the maiden, Virgo!"

With a beautiful golden light-Lucy always admired it-Virgo appeared, confusion written all over her small face.

"Princess," Virgo started, crossing her arms, "Is something wrong? I heard Master Natsu wanted me for something."

"Don't call him that!" Lucy yelled, ignoring Virgo's response of asking if she wanted to punish her. "Go ahead, Natsu. Ask her."

"All right! You see that hole over there? I need you to dig something up for me!" Natsu's over enthusiasm was shown all over his face. Fire danced in his eyes.

"As you wish." Virgo was definitely Lucy's most obedient spirit. If that had been her, she would've thrown a fit. In no time at all, Virgo reached the hole Natsu had already started with a shovel, and ignored the green leaves that clung to her short, pink hair.

Natsu cheered loudly in Lucy's ear when Virgo dug a hole in what seemed like no time at all.

"Can you shut up?!"

"Master," Virgo's voice called from the bottom of the hole. "There's no pictures here. Only a package."

That's when Lucy noticed. Natsu's previous blush from the guild reappeared on his face, as he actually started to become shy and bashful.

"Yeah...uh…," Natsu seemed to be at a loss for words, before he finally said, "Can you bring that to me?"

Virgo did as he asked, holding a small, brown package messily wrapped and held together by white string. A name was scribbled on it.

 _Who is Anna?_ Lucy squinted her eyes, and saw there were other letters. Lisanna?

Virgo handed Natsu the package, before turning to Lucy. "Do you require anything else, Princess?"

"No?" Lucy looked over at Natsu, who was engrossed in the package. "I don't think so. Thank you, Virgo."

Virgo nodded, leaving the two mages alone as she transported back to the celestial world.

"Natsu? What's that? Are the pictures in there?"

Natsu's head snapped at her voice, a frown settling on his face. "Uh...no." Then, his voice became a whisper. "I'm sorry for not telling the truth, Lucy. I wasn't actually looking for embarrassing pictures of the guild. Only an idiot would believe that actually exists."

Lucy wanted to throttle him, but was more curious on what the package was exactly. "So...what's inside the package?"

"Oh! Right…" Natsu scratched the back of his head, hesitation written all over his body language. "I guess it's fine to show ya, since you're so nice."

 _Nice?_ Lucy sweatdropped, remembering the slap she gave him earlier.

Natsu's large hands broke apart the wrapper easily, revealing something odd. It was a simple silver chain, with one single charm on it: an egg. Or that's what Lucy could tell, anyway. It had dark, thick scratch-like marks on it.

Lucy had to admit, it wasn't exactly pretty. It seemed like something someone would buy for a deeper meaning behind it.

"Who's it for?"

Natsu stared into her eyes, before answering. "A friend...she was my friend a long time ago. Way before you joined Fairy Tail! I was going to give it to her, but she's not here now."

Lucy wanted to ask why, but decided not to. It was something that bothered Natsu, clearly, and she didn't want to pry.

"Oh…"

"I didn't want anyone calling me names, so I hid it here a long time ago!" Natsu's grin came back, like nothing had happened. "But I guess it's just wasting away."

"Ah," was the only response Lucy could muster. Why did he decide to show it to her? Lucy felt like she was intruding into a private moment.

"I know you prefer fancier stuff," _was he calling her materialistic? Ugh!_ "But I know you can keep a secret. I trust you."

Lucy's heart began to flutter, and she smiled slightly. "You're a good friend, Natsu."

"You think so?" He beamed, brightening at the thought that he did something worth her approval. "I can't give it to her anymore...though."

"Wear it," Lucy blurted out, without thinking. "Wear it until you see her again. Then you'll have it on you, and you won't have to dig a hole again."

Natsu grinned again, wrapping the necklace around his wrist, knowing it was too small to wrap around his neck. He paused when he was done, and began to fish something in his pockets. "I think you're a good friend too, Lucy."

With that, he pulled out something Lucy recognized instantly. Her other earring. He gestured her to come forward.

Once she did, he gently began to put her earring back through the hole in her ear. He did it with so much delicacy that Lucy wasted no time handing him the other one.

Lucy, on impulse, embraced him. She didn't know Natsu's friend, or their history together, but she heard how pained he sounded-and it hurt her too.

She didn't know him for long, but now she felt as though she knew him for years.

She felt Natsu's hand on her head, patting softly. She even felt the silver chain caress her scalp. A small thought entered Lucy's mind. She didn't mind if Natsu had feelings for her, or not. What mattered most was having him at her side, as long as he wanted to stay there.


End file.
